To those of the naiveté persuasion who believe that Edward
Joseph Snowden [30] is a hero for democracy and/or world freedom as a whistleblower, Latin America is simply one region of
the globe that is experiencing the sour and bitter notes of his whistle playing, while he has taken up a convenient place
of residence in Russia.

Let us not forget a fellow player of this rogue “orchestra” of oratorical
disharmony, one Julian Paul Assange [42]. Since June 19, 2012 Assange has resided cozily in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London,
where he has been granted diplomatic asylum.

Assange initially started with WikiLeaks in 2006, and subsequently began to publish US military and diplomatic documents that exposed
secrets, sources and methods.

What do Snowden and Assange share in common, and who has facilitated their agendas and exploited their
operational acts?

The dark and shadowy specter of espionage, with its many tentacles of manipulation and world players, are indeed
suspect in a myriad of applications.

As the exploits of Snowden and Assange alone seem to primarily focus on the US,
they are joined by leftwing rogue nation leaders and their own devious security services who point their crooked fingers at
democracy -- spy versus spy is alive and well in virtually every corner of the world, and it will remain quite possibly until
the end of time.

Reportedly, espionage preceded biblical times. A modern colloquialism references,
“The satanic serpent, an agent operating under the cover of a reptile, who enlisted Eve as an intelligence asset to
destabilize the relationship between God and the Garden of Eden.” Although a graphic philosophical illustration,
it does identify the purpose and essential ethic of the intelligence craft -- coaxing your contact to part with confidences.

In this scenario the reptile conducted a false flag recruitment -- recruiting Eve by pretending to
be a sympathizer. The reptile’s successful pitch and recruitment of Eve, by deception and with disinformation, influenced
the actions leading to the toppling and displacement of the previously established regime. The voracious appetite of
the intelligence animal is still alive. Though in competition with another as the “world’s oldest profession,”
they do have their similarities.

Last week in Havana, at the CELAC summit, to which neither the US or Canada wasinvited, a protégé
of the late leftist president Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, President Evo Morales of Bolivia, said, “If electronic espionage
like that carried out by the Obama administration is a matter of guaranteeing the security of the international community,
as the U.S. contends, then I would suggest to all of you that the member states of this body do just the same. Let's spy
on Obama and his government, and by so doing we'll guarantee world security."

In an interview in 2010, parroting
Chavez, Morales said, “A union of Latin American countries is the weapon against imperialism. It is necessary to create
a regional body that excludes the US and Canada to free our peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Venezuela’s
current president, Nicolas Maduro, was quick to praise Snowden stating, "I think we should do something for him. We are
not afraid of any kind of empires.”

Morales said he would grant asylum to Snowden if requested. Cuba’s President
Raul Castro expressed his support for those that might assist Snowden. President Rafael Correa of Ecuador was quick to offer
Snowden a temporary travel document, but later withdrew it.

Even politically correct statements are sometimes necessary in
espionage and intelligence matters. Deceptions within deceptions, which is a hallmark of the ancient profession.

This is especially
true with leftist Latin American leaders that have turned from democratic collective decision making and fair elections, and sought
to rewrite their nation's constitutions to focus on central powers that control legislative and judiciary functions, and
openly defying much of the rule of law. Their mission: to gain power and keep it.

Snowden was
originally bound for Ecuador, after leaving Hong Kong, and he was allegedly transiting Moscow when the US revoked his passport.
A US official said that Snowden's passport was annulled before he left Hong Kong. Russian President Vladimir Putin said
that Snowden's arrival in Moscow was "a surprise" and "like an unwanted Christmas gift.”

It has been
said, in intelligence circles, that “true genius resides in the capacity to evaluate conflicting information…”
i.e. lies masquerading as the truth.

Putin
has been described as a mystery, with no records surviving of any ancestors or any people with the surname "Putin,"
beyond his grandfather Spiridon Ivanovich. For 16 years Putin served as an officer in the KGB, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before he retired to enter politics.

US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said that, “the vast majority”
of what Snowden stole “had nothing to do with privacy. Our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines have been incredibly harmed
by the data that he has taken with him and we believe now is in the hands of nation states.”

US leaders and policy makers must come together to agree that Latin America is not the nation's backyard where
one can just stand behind a fence. The potential to totally destabilize a hemisphere is not farfetched. Current events
in Latin America demonstrate a need for democracies in the region to maintain vigilance on leftist leaders who could potentially
threaten the stability of this hemisphere. The Intelligence Collection Cycle is clearly more than just spin.

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Jerry Brewer is C.E.O. of Criminal Justice International Associates, a global threat
mitigation firm headquartered in northern Virginia. His website is located at www.cjiausa.org.